1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a sulky, and specifically, to a sulky with adjustable wheel positions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A sulky is used in a type of horse racing commonly referred to as harness racing, or more specifically, low-wheeled harness racing. In harness racing, a rider rides on the sulky. The sulky is harnessed to a horse, and the horse pulls the sulky around a track. The sulky is also referred to as a bike.
The sulky includes a frame that supports the rider. The frame includes a cross-member disposed at a rear end of the sulky and shafts, also referred to as thills, spaced from each other and extending from the cross-member forwardly along a frame axis to a front end of the sulky. The shafts are mounted to the horse with the horse disposed between the shafts, i.e., the horse is generally disposed along the frame axis.
The sulky also includes first and second wheel supports each supporting a wheel. The first and second wheel supports are spaced from each other and extend downwardly from the frame. The wheels rest on the ground and support the first and second wheel supports, respectively.
The wheels are aligned with each other along the frame axis. As such, when the horse is attached to the frame between the shafts, i.e., along the frame axis, the sulky tends to roll along a straight path, i.e., along the axis, when the horse moves forwardly. In other words, since the wheels are aligned with each other along the axis, the wheels bias the sulky to roll along a straight path. The horse can overcome this bias and can pull the sulky from the straight path, however, during such a movement, the horse is working against the bias of the sulky and is required to exert additional energy to pull the sulky from the straight path.
Most tracks for racing sulkies are round or oval in shape depending upon the venue. The radius of curvature of the track can also vary between venues. In addition, variation exists between venues, specifically venues in varying countries, in the direction in which the race is run. Some venues race in a clockwise direction and other venues race in a counter-clockwise direction.
In addition, the angle of the first and second wheel supports relative to the ground is an important factor in the efficiency of the operation of the sulky. An improper angle of the first and second wheel supports relative to the ground can lead to unwanted bouncing of the sulky when pulled by the horse. Further, an improper angle of the first and second wheel supports relative to the ground is indicative of an improper fit of the sulky to the horse. In other words, the dimensions of the sulky do not properly match the dimensions of the horse, in which case the sulky the efficiency of the sulky is decreased such that the horse must exert additional energy to pull the sulky.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to design a sulky that overcomes these disadvantages set forth above such that the efficiency of the sulky can be improved when used at different venues having varying size and race directions and such that the efficiency of the sulky can be improved when used with horses of various sizes.